At the same time, Washington should render Beijing a reciprocal service, contributing to improving the conditions of Sino-American cooperation, the Global Times newspaper writes.
China can respond to the call of the United States and sell part of its oil reserves from its reserves, but it will do so taking into account its own interests, and not blindly following the demand of the American side. The Global Times newspaper writes about this on Wednesday, citing Chinese experts.
China could help the United States curb rising oil prices and inflation fears and release oil from its reserves as a favor to the American side, the newspaper writes. However, it notes, the United States should render a reciprocal service by contributing to improving the conditions of Sino-American cooperation, in particular, refraining from unjustified pressure and suppression of China in areas where they do not need its help. As noted in the article, experts expect that this time China can help, given that the decline in world oil prices will benefit Chinese business as well. However, they noted that China will release oil from reserves taking into account its own economic needs, and not just blindly following the “requirements of the United States.”
“This is one of the aspects where China and the United States can cooperate since the fall in world oil prices will also benefit China as a major importer of oil,” the newspaper quotes the deputy chairman of the Chinese Society for the Study of WTO Issues, Hou Jianguo. According to him, “given the friction between the two countries, China is not obliged to help the United States.” “However, we can think about what China should put first – its own economic interests or disputes between the two countries,” the expert added.
According to the Global Times, experts stressed that if China provides assistance, it will do it at its own pace and within its capabilities, and not just follow the requests of the United States. According to Lin Boqiang, director of the Center for Research on the Energy Economy of China at Xiamen University, China should be careful about releasing oil from its reserves in response to a request from the United States. “We must put our own interests at the forefront,” he stressed.
In turn, an employee of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences specializing in U.S. research, Liu Xiang, in an interview with the Global Times, noted that China could provide assistance by releasing oil from reserves, but the scale of this assistance will be limited since China is not a major oil exporter.
